• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, June 4, 2010

According to a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive, commissioned by Coupons.com, "well-heeled, educated and urban shoppers are taking advantage of coupons and searching for them online..."

Steven Boal, CEO of Coupons.com, says "... digital savings tools, coupled with a challenging economy, has taken couponing mainstream... including... the ‘sophisticated couponer'... illustrating the proliferation of the culture of couponing."

61% of adults with a household income of $100,000 or more have redeemed a coupon in the past six months. Additionally, 39 % of adults in this income bracket have redeemed coupons printed from an online source in the past six months, making them nearly twice as likely to do so as adults with a household income less than $35,000.

 Adults with college degrees are almost twice as likely to have used coupons in the past six months as those who didn't graduate from high school, further dispelling the perceived low-brow stigma of couponing. The survey shows that this group of grads is also more likely to make a purchase specifically to redeem a coupon, visit a product's Web site to get a coupon, and search for coupons online.

77% of adults who have used coupons in the past six months live in metro areas.

 The survey also found that men are embracing coupons to rake in the savings. 51% of adult males have used a coupon in the past six months. Not only are they using coupons, but 36% of men responded that they even have a designated place to keep their coupons, and they're just as likely as women to clip and tell: 18% of men have told a friend about a coupon they found online.

 Eight out of 10 U.S. adults plan to continue to engage in couponing activities, according to the survey findings, even if economic conditions improve. "... couponing has truly become a learned behavior... and couponing is here to stay" concludes Boal.

And, a recent study by The Integer Group reports that coupons fit into the lives of male and female shoppers differently. They search for coupons in different media, redeem them in different channels, and use them to accomplish different shopping objectives. Across both gender groups, newspapers and direct mail/circulars hold the top spots for finding deals (62% and 58%, respectively). However, women are clearly more involved in clipping coupons, surpassing males in just about all coupon sources except mobile phones.

Interestingly, says the Integer report, when it comes to technology and coupons, men start to become more involved in the shopping process with coupon, retailer, and brand websites coming in right behind newspapers as places where they actively seek out coupons.

The increased interest in online coupons indicates that men who are seeking coupons online during their pre-planning and research stage of shopping are more open to marketing messaging if provided with the right amount of benefit. According to the chart, men favor newspapers and brand websites.

In this case, the coupon would not serve as an awareness-raising vehicle or customer-acquisitions device but as a driver to CRM marketing programs, like frequent-buyer clubs and memberships.

For more information from couponsinc, please visit here. The Integer Group study may be accessed through registration at The Checkout here.